President and CEO of Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Director of the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Chair of the EDC board.

Chancellor of UNC Asheville. Incoming president of Warren Wilson College. Incoming superintendent of Asheville City Schools.

Countless nonprofit directors and business owners. The newsroom leaders at the two biggest news gathering organizations in town.

All women.

Meridith Elliott Powell is a motivational speaker based in Asheville.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

It’s a sign of the city’s openness, says Meridith Elliott Powell, nationally recognized author and business coach, who lives here.

“I don’t think that Asheville is on a mission to strike some great equality,” she says. “I think Asheville is a forward-thinking city that is looking to put great people into leadership roles, they just happen to be women.”

But it isn’t typical.

“In towns the size of Asheville, I don’t see as many women in leadership positions … really strong, influential and impactful leadership positions,” Powell adds.

I spoke with a small group of women, including Powell, in advance of the next WomanUp event, “Success Redefined,” on June 29. Powell will give the keynote.

WomanUp, an initiative of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, launched last fall with the mission of being “focused on women in business who wish to build a strong network of women intent on inspiring one another to achieve individual potential; supporting each other in business endeavors; and creating a legacy through mentorship.”

I’ve had years of experience with leadership programming that shares many of those goals, and firmly believe women need to lift one another up. I quickly volunteered for the WomanUp committee to help lead as well as learn.

Which leads me back to my chat with Powell.

At “Success Redefined,” she will equip attendees with strategies for just that – success. Without completely spoiling her talk, we discussed what women need to do more of to achieve their goals. She reached back to the theme of the first WomanUp session on networking.

“One of the biggest things is carry on what was brought up in the first event – connect. Men have been doing it for years … it’s been a secret of success in business, to have a place to for camaraderie. That’s No. 1.”

Action item: Ladies, when was the last time you made a lunch date with someone you’re acquainted with but whom you should really know better, on a professional or personal level, or both? Go do that now.

So what else holds women back?

“I never feel like women speak up enough,” Powell said. “They never say enough of what they need, what they want.”

She added that when she asks female professionals what it is they want, “most women haven’t stopped long enough to figure that out.”

Laura Webb, president and founder of Webb Investment Services and a force behind WomanUp, says women’s role as caretakers can actually be a handicap. “You take care of everyone else before you get to that whatever it is,” she says. Women don’t make themselves a priority.

“I think we strive for that perfection piece … it hold us back,” adds Leeanne Briggs, Director of Sponsorships and Events for the chamber.

Action items: Ladies, sit down for an hour and figure out what you want, even one goal. Then add one item to your calendar this week that puts yourself first.

Powell added that another trap for women is how they tend to see the way forward.

“The other thing is women need to stop thinking there’s one path. As women we have more choices,” she said. “You don’t have to go up the corporate ladder. You don’t have to be an entrepreneur. You don’t have to be a stay-at-home mom. At the same time, you can be all of those things if you want to. You’re still welcome at an event like this, you’re still a female professional and you still need to bond.”

We talked for only about 20 minutes, but I was inspired and look forward to hearing more on June 29.

Ladies, if we want to be successful, we need to network and connect as men have been doing for decades. We need to set goals, and take care of ourselves just as we take care of others. Some have figured this out and risen to great heights.

And once women do reach that leadership role, Powell believes there’s another job to do.

“Every time we crack a ceiling we have a responsibility to go back and make the path easier for somebody else.”